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November 3, 2007

Manny/Leno; Ortiz/Conan

We are given a description of Manny by the media --and then the man comes out and he is pretty much the opposite -- smart, charismatic, media-savvy, more than articulate in English, relaxed, very sure of himself, just chatting away. And that giddy laugh -- when have we ever heard that laugh?

SoSHer ragecage says it all:

I really, really don't know if I could love Manny any more. Fuck, he rules. Flat out rules.

Ditto on Conan. Do these hosts really think we want to hear their jokes rather than the guest? Perhaps so...I always find that Charlie Rose does the same thing....talks over his guests. I have never seen Conan before, and I guess I won't be staying up to watch him again.

I think one of the reasons that Conan came off a little bit more annoying is because he seemed genuinley nervous to meet Ortiz, being such a big Sox fan and all. The thought actually occured to me when I was watching the NESN clips.

That scorpion on the jacket Ortiz was wearing was Bedazzled to the highest extent...too cool for my eyes to see without shades on. The sign of the cross when Halloween was mentioned was also funny, but how dare Conan yell at Flo for trying to do the string bikini dance! Only Yerry tells the Large Father what to do.

"Theo, do it!"

Manny took the cake though with the helmet and questioning if Leno's chin was too much for it. I'm surprised the strap didn't break. Manny also knows his cars and I give him the most props for that.

DENVER — Days after the Boston Red Sox completed their four-game sweep to win the 2007 World Series, Colorado Rockies players dressed in full uniform were still standing on the field experiencing various degrees of shock. "We ... we ... we were winning lots of games? And then? Then we were losing all these games? Because the Red Sox came and hit and hit and hit and they didn't, they didn't stop..." said Rockies outfielder Ryan Spilborghs, pointing at the left field wall with a shaking and dirty finger before turning, pointing at the right field wall, and repeating the words he has been speaking nonstop since Sunday night. "They hit here, and here, and through the gap there, and they... Oh, God, what happened? What the fuck just happened to us?" Rockies team officials released an erratically worded, hand-scrawled statement today saying they would address any psychological issues just as soon as the World Series is over.

i think conan was talking over ortiz, NOT becuase Conan was nervous, but becuase ORTIZ was nervous. and with his low pitched voice and "stunted english" (my father is italian and speaks stunted english) it was hard to understand him (whitebread americans) so conan maybe felt he had to make things clear? i dont knowyou could tell ortiz was a bit jittery in the explanations and such. fist time i'v seen him rattled!good thing theres no pitcher that can do that to him.

I watched all three tonight on tape. They were all fun but Manny!! Goddamn he is cool!

Fist-pumping Steve Carel, that was so cute.

And now can it be put to rest that the man can't speak English??

Tiz on Conan was cool, too. I think Conan talking so much took the pressure off Papi. I don't know if anyone remembers Ortiz kind of bombing on Ellen DeGeneres's show? I think those kinds of situations aren't great for him and Conan made it easy.

I did like Ortiz telling Theo to "get it done" (about Mikey).

But major points off Conan for using the uttering the "the curse".

Bot was fun too. I had only seen the dancing entrance before, didn't see the whole sit-down. Snuffer is totally comfy in front of the camera, a natural.

I momentarily thought that Conan was overdoing it here and there, but I think given that these guys don't do appearances like this all the time and aren't native English speakers makes room for some of that. If you speak a second language, you've probably noticed that your skill level can drop pretty dramatically when you're a) nervous and b) starting a conversation cold.

Someone at The Bar told me yesterday that he knows a Red Sox insider. Source never named, of course, so this is worth what I paid for it, but he says there's concern about Papelbon having an alcohol problem.

One, sounds like backlash at worst, or speculation at the least. Also, lots of people have alcohol problems, so it could be kind of a strategic prediction on someone's part. I ain't concerned about it in particular -- just some bullshit to pass on.

I agree with Zenslinger, but I do want to note that I think we all have a tendency to exaggerate the non-native-speaker factor for these guys.

Manny is fully bilingual, and I think Ortiz is, too. Ortiz may not be great in these situations, because it's not his forte, period. He might not be great in the same situation on a Spanish-language talk show.

It's not like they're FOB (fresh off the boat) or that they live primarily in a Spanish-language community. Ortiz's wife is not even Latina.

I have very little handle on how good their English is. I think it's one thing to be functional and another to be fully fluent. And some people get to a certain level and don't get any further either with their accent or with their actual fluency.

I think Manny might have missed what Jay said about his father's buying that car new in 1956.

This just comes from teaching experience; I have nothing against someone who doesn't speak English perfectly. I will never speak any of the languages I have studied anywhere close to true fluency.

Sadly, American education does nothing to promote bilingualism. I find it amazing that wherever else in the world I have traveled that people in general, not just highly educated people, speak at least two languages, generally including English as one. I am always envious of their ability to speak and understand another language. Despite seven years of high school and college French, I still sound like a 6 year old if I try and speak French.